Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an expandable structure that functions as a vending location, distribution point and/or service location, and includes a public service element such as a light source, architectural element or display surface.
Description of the Related Art
Public spaces and gathering areas where events occur and/or individuals meet in groups are valued by vendors and distributors for heir proximity to and ease of access to a customer base. However, such spaces and areas are often characterized by only periodic or irregular visitation by significant numbers of individuals. Visitation often coincides only with special public events, private events or environmental conditions such as good weather. One example of such public gathering spaces is a beachfront area such as a boardwalk, corniche, or promenade. Visits to beach areas by the public occur at irregular times such as on the weekend, during pleasant weather or on occasions of particular public interest. As a consequence, a public presence in numbers sufficient to support installation of a full time permanent retail structure occurs only irregularly.
During times of public visitation and/or when many individuals are present there is a need for refreshments, information, medical service and/or other retail or government service. Retailers may offer for sale souvenirs or refreshments while government bureaus may gather or disseminate information. Food and refreshment vendors are a desirable presence in public gathering spaces during periods of high visitation.
Providing the necessary structure for food vendors and vendors of retail goods and/or services in public gathering spaces is complicated by irregular visitation. While some public spaces such as indoor shopping malls have a reliable and steady stream of potential customers, other public spaces, especially outdoor gathering spaces such as beachfront areas, experience much greater variance in visitation by individuals that represent a potential customer base. For this reason it is difficult to make a case to support the investment needed to build and/or install permanent fully staffed retail structures in such spaces.
In the past a common solution to this problem was for vendors to provide retail and/or vendor services through mobile food dispensers or cart-based vendor systems. A cart-based vendor system permits a vendor to maximize productivity from a retail structure by permitting the vendor to move the structure and provide service to the greatest number of individuals. Mobility permits the vendor to go to the customer base rather than wait for a customer base to appear at a permanent retail facility.
However, cart-based food service and information service options suffer from a series of drawbacks. Often such carts are in need of repair and present an unsanitary and/or unprofessional appearance. The entrepreneurial nature of low profit refreshment vending often leads irresponsible vendors to cut corners and ignore public health regulations. In addition, it becomes more difficult to regulate business activity when it is easy for the vendors to quickly move and avoid scrutiny.
Further, cart-based systems or other temporary retail locations are typically self-serving for the vendor and offer little public benefit other than the availability of retail services. Public spaces are presently under pressure for economic reasons and are often in need of infrastructure improvements and/or utility maintenance that demand substantial expenditures and management effort.